Most Definitely but Probably Not
by WalkingDictionary
Summary: How did they not realize this before? *Tag for Doppelganger*


**Most Definitely, but Probably Not**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding Stargate: Atlantis (unless you want to consider copies of the DVDs) so suing is rather fruitless.**

**Spoilers: 99.9 percent Doppelganger, but there may be instances of SG1 or other Atlantis episodes.**

**A/N: Apologies for any OOCness.**

ooOoo

"You're a replicator." Major Evan Lorne watches as his commanding officer stands up and brushes off his pants. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard grins as the bullet hole in his chest heals and his clothes mend themselves.

"Major, I'm shocked." But the tone isn't shocked, and the smile isn't either. Something freaky is going on. Something Lorne knows he should know. Sheppard is a replicator, has been for some time now. How did they not realize this before?

"Stay away from me," Lorne warns. He needs to find an ARG. It's the only thing that will stop the replicators. Sheppard steps forward, pressing Lorne back. His smirk is so goddamn frightening it literally chills Lorne's blood. Hell if he doesn't feel the need to piss too. His pistol, ineffective though, is still his best weapon at stopping RepliSheppard until he can find a marine to send after the ARG.

"Back up," Lorne commands, fighting the waver he hears in his voice. "Just get the hell away from me."

"Shoot me," RepliSheppard shrugs, arms raised, hair blowing gently in a breeze Lorne swears wasn't there before. "Go on, Major. Grow a pair and take me out."

Lorne charges at him, stupidity and courage outweighing the chances of gaining the upper hand. Incidentally, there are no marines nearby to lend a hand. Laughing, RepliSheppard dodges, dancing backward until a transporter opens behind him. He vanishes and Lorne chases after him. He can't let him infect the rest of Atlantis.

He comes to a skidding stop at the base of the southern tower. RepliSheppard has changed clothes, and instead of the normal BDUs he wears, the ones he was wearing earlier in their confrontation, he has on a long-sleeved undershirt and his pants resemble sweatpants more than the BDU pants. Something is wrong with this picture now. Sheppard raises his hands as Lorne points the gun at him.

"I should shoot you," Lorne whispers because there is a fear that this isn't a RepliSheppard, that the other one is still in Atlantis, and that this is his commanding officer.

"I, uh, I don't think that'd be a good idea," Sheppard whispers back. "Major…Evan, please lower your weapon. I'm not a threat to you."

"No, you're a threat to everyone on this base. I should shoot you." He doesn't know what's holding him back. Maybe it's the people surrounding them now. Here are the marines he can send to get an ARG. He desperately wants to tell one of them about Sheppard, but he doesn't dare take his eyes off the replicator. Sheppard's eyes are wide and frightened as the gun bobs up and down from his forehead to his heart.

"Security, please respond to Crew Quarters Atrium."

The gun settles on Sheppard's forehead. Lorne's not taking any chances—he's already survived a direct hit to the heart. "I did not say that," Sheppard grimaces as he spreads his arms, fingers straightening to point behind Lorne. He steps back as Lorne steps forward.

"Doesn't matter, you're still a replicator."

"Am not," Sheppard retorts, glancing behind to see if the security officers have arrived. Lorne ignores them—their guns mean nothing. Stopping RepliSheppard from taking over Atlantis is the most important thing right now.

"Are too, and before you say 'am not' again, I refuse to get into a juvenile argument about your origins."

"No, you know what would be really juvenile?" Sheppard takes another step back, but Lorne holds his ground—he still has Sheppard in his sights. "What would be really juvenile is if I said you were a replicator too. Major, snap out of it!"

The gun wavers only because Lorne starts blinking heavily. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief as the gun lowers, but then Sheppard says, "Stop!" from behind him. RepliSheppard infected the real Sheppard, like Niam infected Weir, except Sheppard is strong enough, with his Ancient genes, to withstand the nanites changing his brain. No wonder Sheppard switched clothes. There _are_ two of them, twice the chance to infect people.

The gun snaps up, barrel locking on Sheppard's face, which comically goes slack with surprise. The safety isn't on, all it'll take is a quick squeeze of the trigger and then one of the replicator-enemies will be dead.

"Put down the gun, Major." Sheppard's face resolves itself into the mask he wears when he gives orders everyone knows have to be obeyed. Then it softens, but his voice stays hard, "Let's talk this out."

Lorne decides he's had enough. There are marines nearby. They can help dispatch this threat. "Someone get an A.R.G. now!" No one moves. He's a major, they have to obey him, too. "Shoot him with it!" The gun somehow slips the safety back on, twenty years in the military has taught him not to shoot his commanding officer. Two years in the Pegasus galaxy has taught him to disregard much of what the military has taught him.

"Major," Dr. Heightmeyer speaks. "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on." Pretty smart lady, but completely wrapped around Sheppard's finger—the things Sheppard does should be enough to get him kicked out of the military, but no one is willing to blow the whistle on him. Serves them right if Lorne proves Sheppard is the enemy now.

"Just do it!" God, why won't they listen to him? Every second they're in Sheppard's presence is another second Atlantis is under attack. "Okay," he says, voice tripping with the effort of making them understand how important it is to kill Colonel Sheppard, "what's the harm? If he's human—" he isn't, but only Lorne can see that right now— "it won't hurt him, right?"

Teyla, miraculously appearing beside Dr. Heightmeyer, turns to Sheppard. "John, what is he talking about?"

He should have known she was even more ensconced in Sheppard's torrid affairs with every scientist and non-Earth military personnel in the city than Heightmeyer. He knows it's futile to get her on his side, not when she'll never believe 'John' can hurt her, but he has to try. It's his job to protect the city and her people. Except Sheppard.

"Don't talk to him!" Everyone standing around them glares at him. Accusing the pretty boy of being bad. He'll show them. "Colonel Sheppard is a replicator."

Sheppard is the only one who doesn't recoil, who doesn't change. Of course, he grimaces as if the idea of being disliked by everyone on Atlantis is unsavory—McKay would know how he'll feel—but he doesn't respond to the shocked gasps and the physical distance suddenly imposed upon his self.

"Look, Lorne, I don't know what's gotten into you…"

"Me?" Lorne retaliates. "No, nononono. It's not me." At least, Lorne is almost 100 percent certain RepliSheppard didn't infect him.

And then Colonel Carter steps up to stand next to Sheppard. Doesn't _she_ care about the safety of the people, the city?

"Major." Her voice is neutral, almost like how she speaks to Sheppard when he tries to get her to approve dangerous/beneficial missions that she knows they need to do but will result in large amounts of filled body bags. "How 'bout you lower your weapon."

"He's a replicator!" Lorne has said it so many times, he's not sure he quite believes himself anymore, but behind him, Sheppard laughs, taunting, "Shoot him, Evan. Kill the doppelganger." And that resolves him enough to steady his hand, which has been trembling too hard to pull the trigger. "What, you don't believe me?" Off goes the safety, and maybe it'll stay off this time. "Okay, I'll shoot him, you'll see."

"Whoa, whoa," Sheppard in front of him stammers, "that won't be necessary." He twitches his hands, spreading his arms almost perpendicular from his body now, "I've got my hands up in a very non-threatening way." Such a Sheppard-thing to say. Lorne would bet half a month's pay that everyone watching them thinks Sheppard is still the greatest, despite the revelation he is one of the worst enemies of the Tau'ri.

Suddenly, Carter's face, a careful mask of polite confusion, changes into another mask, one that tells Lorne she's going to humor the crazy soldier. "Call for an ARG," she says, true to character.

"What, you _believe_ him?" Of course, Sheppard doesn't have history with Carter, not like Lorne does. He doesn't know when she's taking sides. Or he doesn't believe that someone isn't under his charms anymore.

But, Carter, bless her heart, is another Sheppard-supporter. "Of course not," she whispers, like Lorne can't hear her. "But it won't hurt you, and it might help him to lower his gun." And a spark ignites in Lorne's mind. She's helping Sheppard because he infected her. It's the only explanation for why she doesn't care about Atlantis's safety.

Now he's pointing his gun at two commanding officers. Behind him, RepliSheppard laughs again, a long drawn out sound that twists his insides. Something isn't right, hasn't been ever since they lost Dr. Weir. "You're one of them too." A headshot or wing her? "Well, don't just stand there!" he yells at the immobile marines. "Shoot them! Shoot both of them!"

"Take out the source," RepliSheppard moves around him, moving behind Sheppard, mimicking the defensive pose Sheppard has held for nearly half an hour. "Hit me, baby. Kill me and you'll kill them."

Lorne steadies his aim, barrel pointed at RepliSheppard's face. Aims through his CO, aims to blast off half the face. An electrical charge envelopes him, forcing him to his knees as his gun drops from his hand. He's been stunned, he realizes just as his eyes close and his mind finally goes blank. His last coherent thought is 'Sheppard won.'

oo The End oo


End file.
